06/17/2026
Awesome advice!
Ps- ill be in my shower/tub with Oz, Karl and the cats
Here's some advice from a former insurance agent. It's a bit of a long read, but excellent advice!
As a former Insurance Agent who has dealt with many storm events, I have a couple of suggestions.
1. Make sure everyone in the families phones are charged and on their actual body.If someone else cannot communicate, make sure they can.
2. If you live in a trailer or home without an interior bathroom or closet that does not have windows, right now, figure out where you are going to go. Go there in plenty of time before storms are set to arrive. You won't have time to safely get there if you wait until that time.
3. If you have insurance, take the time to walk around and video the items around your house. Open closets, drawers, cabinets and state the main items that are in there. Scan each room, pointing out antique items or items of high value. Do the same in garages or storage sheds. You will never remember everything if you would get tornado damage. If you have smaller irreplaceable items, pictures, urns with ashes of a loved one....take them with you to the safe place you are going. This does not take a lot of time and will save you so much time and frustration if damage should happen.
4. Make sure your friends, family and neighbors know where you are going to go for safety. If you need to be rescued , located or accounted for, someone needs to know where you are. You don't want emergency personnel or family wasting their time looking for you if you are safe somewhere.
5. If you have a basement or another safe space with room for others, offer friends, family or neighbors shelter if they dont have any of their own.
6. If you live in a trailer or are in a car and you wait until the last minute or can't get to someplace safe. Lay in a ditch with a blanket or something over you instead of staying in a trailer or car.
7. It's just "stuff" folks, do not risk injury or death trying to get something you forgot.
8. Be sure to take pets to safety with you.
9. Be sure to have water, easy to grab food that does not have to be refrigerated or cooked in a reachable area. It may take time for rescuers to find you and long waits for restoration of utilities, even if you personally were not affected.
10. BE PATIENT if the worst case scenario happens. Resources are very limited when these things happen. If you and your family are unharmed and safe, just sit still and let others be cared for that weren't so lucky. Last week in Kokomo, people were losing their minds over 10 hours without electricity,it could be days in these situations. If you have medicine or life saving equipment that has to be plugged in, HAVE A PLAN in place. Don't be putting others in danger because you were not prepared!!! Meds can be placed in a cooler full of ice, if you don't have a long lasting battery for your equipment, head to a hospital or someplace else with a generator. Your failure to plan, should not become an emergency for someone else.
11. This is all worst case scenario and we always think it won't happen here, to us, but it can. If you are prepared and nothing happens....what do you lose????
12. Pray this is just a little Ole thunderstorm, but if its not, that everyone will be ready and safe. If anyone is looking for me...I'll be in my bathtub.